A/N: So I just want to say how amazing it feels to see one of your stories go into the 10,000 readers area! Runaway actually has made it over 10,000 and that's just insane! So thank you to all those readers out there who are reading my "new" stuff and goin back to read the old stuff. I really appreciate it. Also, for those of you waiting for shit for The Mysterious One, I'm tryin to get shit out for that. I just seem to be having a hard time with that one. Like I know where I want it to go, I just can't get the fillers in there, ya know? I can't figure out how to get there. But hopefully sometime soon I'll get it up there.

A/N 2: Also, I make up a wrestling fed towards the end of this chapter. I don't know if it actually exists and I don't care. I didn't want to take one and then have someone be like, oh that does happen at their shows or something like that. And I'm also not too impressed by the end product of this chapter. I think it's actually one of those filler chapters. Something that had to be done to get to the next step. Cause I'm about ready to get into the good shit.

"What are you up to today?" Lizzie questioned as she walked around her room, dressing after a long hot shower, soothing her aching muscles.

"Um, not much. I'm finally sewing Crystal's wedding dress," Hope answered carefully moving the fabric underneath the pounding needle and thread of her sewing machine.

"Wow, it's about time! You've been working on sketches for how long?!" Lizzie laughed.

"Liz, I've been a little preoccupied lately. This isn't the only thing I've had to do!"

"Well, maybe if you spent a little less time fucking around with Helms you would have gotten it done sooner," Lizzie smirked over the phone.

Hope growled a bit. Even being in two completely different states, she was able to see her friend's obnoxious look. The sewing machine grew silent as Hope crossed her arms. "Wipe that look off your face! I'm not fucking around with Shane! He's fuckin training me, you douche bag!"

Lizzie laughed as she wrapped a belt around her waist. "Yeah, whatever, Hope."

"ANYWAYS!!! I'm hoping to get this dress done so I can do the last of her measurements the next time I'm there."

"Which will be, when?"

"I don't know Lizzie. Possibly for mine and Jeff's birthday. But I can't make any promises."

"You have to be home for your birthday!"

"Well, I am busy! Besides, I may be moving soon." Hope smiled, knowing that would ruffle up her friend's feathers.

"Moving?!" Lizzie exclaimed dropping to her bed. "Moving where?!"

"See, that's the problem, I don't know. I mean, you know I've been making quite a bit of money. So I'm thinking about buying a house."

"Where?! In Connecticut?!"

"I don't know yet!" Hope accomplished the goal she was tryin to reach. Cause her best friend to go into hysterics. "So what are you up to today?"

Lizzie started to open her mouth and then stopped, thinking about Hope's question. "Are you trying to avoid telling me what's goin on?"

"That's a possibility. Is it working?" Hope questioned starting up her sewing machine again.

"Yep!" Lizzie laughed. Hope rolled her eyes and positioned the phone between her ear and shoulder once again. "I'm actually getting ready to go hang out with Jeff."

"Lizzie," Hope groaned.

"No, not like that! Strictly platonic, I swear," Lizzie assured her friend as she grabbed her keys and started down the stairs.

"Okay, I just want to make sure that we're not gonna go through that whole "friend's with benefits" ordeal again," Hope sighed.

"I promise you, I won't start anything like that again!" Lizzie grinned as she thought for a second.

"Lizzie?" Hope questioned, noticing the unusual silence.

"However, if he is to, oh, I don't know, starts stripping off my clothes, I'm not going to fight him."

"LIZZIE!!!!" Hope yelled in disgust.

"Just kidding, I'll put up a slight struggle."

"Oh you're hilarious Lizzie."

"I try. I'll talk to you later Hope."

"Lata Liz!" Hope laughed at her friend as she threw her phone on the couch.

"Hope, this dress is beautiful! Thank you so much!" Crystal exclaimed as she stood in front of a full length mirror with her newly made wedding dress held in front of her.

"Well, don't just stand there, get it on so I can make sure the measurements are perfect," Hope smiled as Crystal hugged the skittle headed girl and ran into the bedroom.

"Hope, that dress looks amazing! I can't believe you made that!" Lizzie smiled.

"Gee, thanks for all the support!" Hope chuckled flopping down on the leather couch.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's amazing that anyone could create something that beautiful," Lizzie replied.

"Oh, um, well, thanks," Hope blushed a bit as Crystal walked briskly towards them holding the dress up. Hope stood and walked the rest of the way towards her friend.

"Hope, this dress is just, insane! I love the lace up back. Shannon's gonna go mad!" Crystal giggled happily as Hope tightened the strings in the back, tying them in a neat bow at the small of Crystal's back.

"Are you sure you're happy with it? Cause there's still time for me to make adjustments to it," Hope bit on her lip as she fluffed out the bottom of the skirt.

"Don't you DARE adjust it!" Crystal laughed. "You couldn't make it any better or anymore me!"

"I'm really glad you like it. I worked my ass off on it!" Hope smiled as she stood, crossing her arms. "How does it fit? Is anything too tight or loose?"

"No, it fits great! Though it may be a bit too long."

"Yeah, I agree," Hope spoke as she examined the skirt. She knelt down and began folding up the very bottom, not much, just about an inch and a half. "Lizzie, hand me my box of pins?"

"Sure," Lizzie replied.

Hope moved around, pinning up the bottom. "This will be easy to fix. Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"Positive!" Crystal smiled taking one last look at herself in the mirror as Hope stood with the remaining pins in her hand. "Now you girls just have to get fitted for your dresses!" Hope and Lizzie looked at each other with a snarl. "Don't make that face! You have to do it. No if's, and's, or but's about it!" Hope rolled her eyes but smiled as she started to loosen up the back on the dress.

"So what are we doing in a real estate's office?" Matt questioned as Hope glanced through a booklet of houses and properties.

Hope sighed and looked up at her older brother before he took a seat next to his sister. "Well, you can't tell anyone else yet, cause I haven't made a final decision or anything, but I think I'm gonna buy a house here. Well, in North Carolina. Not necessarily in Cameron though."

"You're gonna move home?!" Matt exclaimed sounding bit shocked.

"I think so. I just miss everyone. I've already talked to Shane and Stephanie McMahon about all this and they said that they think it's a great idea. I do most of my work on the road anyways. I'm leaning towards it more and more. But I don't want anyone else to know until I have a place. Got me Mathew?!"

"Yes, Hope, I gotcha," Matt smiled before placing a kiss on his sister's cheek.

"But I wanted you to know so you could help me a find a place that was perfect for me."

"But why me? Jeff could probably help you more, don't you think?"

"No, I've just changed a bit since I moved to Connecticut. Plus you can keep a secret. Jeff? Not so much," Hope smiled as the agent entered the office.

After explaining to the real estate agent what she wanted, Hope was on her way to look at her first house. She was very excited, but also a bit scared. This was a big step for her. Sure she had been out on her own for a while now, living in her own apartment in a city setting, but it wasn't her. She missed her country. She figured it was true what they say, 'you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl'. House they were headed to wasn't too far from Cameron, in fact, it happened to be in Vass. She hoped it would be right down the road from Shannon, and for once, something she hoped for, happened. About 4 houses down the road from her friend was a beautiful two story, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, house with a basement, in-ground pool, and hot tub. They drove up a fairly long driveway and parked in front of a 2 car garage. As Hope stepped out of the car, she began to feel extremely happy. She had a feeling that they may not even need to look at other houses. She just felt extremely good about this place, and she hadn't even stepped inside yet. As her agent showed her and Matt around the house, Hope couldn't help but smile, and Matt noticed this. Something about this place told him that it was hers' as well.

About 15 minutes later, they were standing outside of the empty, spacious home, looking out at the extremely large backyard. "So, what's your feeling about the house?" Hope's agent questioned, snapping her out of a daydream of her decorating the house and building up the backyard into a mini-dirt bike track. She would be just far enough away from her neighbors so she wouldn't disturb people.

Hope looked up at Matt and he just smiled and nodded at his little sister. She sighed deeply and turned to look at the house. "It's home," Hope smiled.

"Really? First house? That's unusual."

"Yes, but there's something about this place. I love it. I loved it the second we pulled up the driveway. I'll take it!" Hope said excitedly.

"Great! Let's go back to the office and I'll draw up the papers."

They followed the agent through the house and to the car. Matt wrapped his arm around his sister and squeezed her tightly. He knew she had found her home and was very happy for her. He knew great things were gonna come her way. Matt was just happy to be a part of it all. "I'm glad I came with you today."

"I'm glad you came too. It really meant a lot to me Matty," she smiled.

"Matty? You haven't called me that since you were like 6!" Matt laughed as they started back for the office. Hope just smiled.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Hope and Jeff. Happy birthday to you!" Everyone sang as they all gathered around the table to watch the twins blow out the candles on their cake.

"Another year down and another year older," Matt joked.

"Yeah, and guess what? The older Jeff and I get, the OLDER YOU GET!" Hope smirked, crossing her arms over her white wife-beater covered chest.

"Bitch!" Matt snapped with a smile.

"Always and forever," she replied and Shane walked through the door.

"Did I miss cake yet?" he questioned.

"No, but you were about to miss my announcement," Hope spoke with a smile. Matt stood back with a grin as everyone's ears perked up and they all began to listen.

"Announcement??? Are you gonna wrestle again?!" Jeff questioned excitedly.

"No, nothing like that. I'm gonna be moving this weekend."

"WHAT?!" The room seemed to come alive with yells of anger and gasps of shock.

"Where to this time? Japan?!" Shannon exclaimed sounding irritated.

"No, no! Closer to here actually."

"Are you moving home?!" Jeff questioned happily.

"No. Well, sort of. Actually, I'll be a few houses down from Shannon."

"Houses??? Amy asked. "Hope, did you buy a house?"

"Yeah, I did!" Hope giggled excitedly.

"You're lying. This is totally a joke," Lizzie chuckled.

Hope just shook her head. "No. I totally bought a house! I'll prove it to ya'll. Just follow me." Hope quickly grabbed her keys and headed out of the house ahead of everyone else. Everyone stood rooted in the kitchen. Still feeling like it was a joke. Matt laughed and followed his sister out the door. When he left, they realized she may not be lying after all and quickly gathered into their cars.

Hope led the pack towards her new home. She had actually started moving a few of her things into the place. She was overly excited and couldn't wait to make it completely her home. As she pulled up the driveway, she looked in her mirror to make sure they all had followed directions well and made it behind her. When everyone showed up, she stepped out of her car and walked up the front steps.

"Okay, Hope. Who's gonna walk out of that house sayin 'GOTCHA'?" Lizzie asked crossing her arms as everyone followed Hope up to the house.

"No one. I swear this house is empty." She took out her key and still they weren't too sure it wasn't a joke. Most didn't expect the key to work in the door. However, when they heard the click of the lock and saw the door open, they became excited. "See, this is my new house!"

"Hope, this is, amazing! I don't understand how this is all gonna work, but I'm happy it is!" Jeff smiled giving his sister a hug.

"It's bout damn time you came home!" Shannon laughed jumping on the twins. "Now the group is back together!"

"Well, do we get the tour or what?" Shane smiled before Hope led them around the house.

"So how do you like your house?" Shane questioned as he ran next to Hope on the tread mill.

"I love it. I couldn't be happier!" Hope smiled.

"Ya know, I've noticed a change in your personality since you moved back. You're a lot happier," Shane smiled.

"I started getting happy when you started training me. Thank you by the way. You'll never know how much that meant to me," Hope replied as the tread mill slowed down before stopping completely. She sipped her water as she stepped off and toweled off her face.

"You don't have to thank me at all. I was happy to do it. I'm very proud of you. You're amazing," Shane spoke as he too got off the tread mill. He leaned over and kissed her sweaty cheek before they smiled at each other.

Hope bit on her lip, a little embarrassed. She had started feeling things for Shane that she didn't know existed. She hadn't realized how great of a guy and friend he actually was. There were times, even, when she thought she may actually love him. Those times were quickly knocked out of her mind and considered moments of pure insanity. "Oh, um, more good news?"

"Really? What now?"

"I'm gonna start wrestling for a company next weekend," she exclaimed as they began walking towards the locker rooms.

"No, way," he replied surprised, stopping dead in his tracks.

"No kidding! I finally have the confidence to get back in that ring LIVE!" she laughed before he picked her up in his arms.

"I can't believe this! That's amazing Bade. This will be great for you. But how is that going to work out with your job at the WWE?"

"Well, the company knows that I do work for the WWF in a non-wrestling fashion. And that my job demands that I be at certain places on certain days. So on the days I'm home, that's when I'll be at shows. They're being very lenient. I think they're just excited to have a member of the Hardy family in their business."

"Still, that's great. You deserve this. It's been too long," Shane smiled as he pushed a piece of pink colored hair off her cheek.

She looked down, but quickly brought her eyes back up to his when his hand began to run down her cheek. She quickly shook him away and stepped towards the women's locker room. "Um, yeah, I know. Um, but we'd better get going. You have a show tonight and all."

"Oh, um, yeah, you're right. I'll see you at the car?" he questioned. She nodded quickly before running into the locker room.

"Worried about your first night out there?" Hope turned hearing a voice behind her. She had been standing in front of the ring she was going to be performing in for the first time in a long time. But a piece of her was still trying to talk her out of it. A piece of her was telling her that it'll end up like the last show she did……with her in the hospital with no memory.

"Huh?" she questioned as she faced a young guy standing behind her. She didn't mean to, but she started running her eyes up and down his body. She found him very attractive. Dark blue spiky hair and piercing blue eyes. He was muscular, but not too muscular. He had a body much like Shane or Matt's. He stood about 6'2" and must have been about 220 in weight. He wore a black muscle tee and baggy jeans. She noticed his right arm was covered in tattoos and his left had the beginnings of a sleeve. His lip was pierced, right in the middle and she could swear she saw a barbell in his mouth while he smiled at her, telling her that he also had his tongue pierced. That excited her. "Oh, sorry, yeah kinda worried. I didn't have the best luck at my last show."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm sure tonight will go better for you," he continued to smile at her. He flicked his tongue out, and played with a blue balled barbell with his teeth. She chuckled.

"Yeah, you and me both." She stretched out her hand to him as he did the same to her. "I'm Hope. Hope Hardy."

"Whoa, wait…….THE Hope Hardy?! Matt and Jeff Hardy's sister?!"

"The very one," she sighed. She had a feeling she was gonna hear a lot of that through out the night.

"I saw you wrestle A LONG time ago. Um, when Omega was running strong. You were AMAZING!!! You gave those boys a run for their money!"

She leaned back in surprise. She fully expected him to ask her tons of questions about her brothers. "Well, thank you."

"Where the hell have you been?" he questioned crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"Trying to get over my fear of….." she paused and turned to the ring, pointing at it. "That thing."

"You quit wrestling?"

"Yeah, for a while. And then a few months ago, Shane Helms started training me and getting me back into it. While I've been working in the wardrobe department in the WWF."

"Really? What's it like at the WWF?"

"Well, in a non-wrestling aspect, it's okay. It's nice to be able to spend most of my time with my brothers and a few of my friends at work. I already knew most of the people, so that was pretty good."

"Wow, that's really cool. But now you're back into wrestling, huh?"

"Yeah, I think I'm finally ready to get back in there. It's been a struggle, but I think I'm good. Hopefully the person I'm up against tonight goes fairly easy on me."

"Like you need someone to go easy on you. You're a fuckin Hardy!" he laughed. She smiled but shook her head.

"Yeah, but unlike my brother's, I've been on a hiatus of sorts."

"Yeah, true. But I'm sure with the help of Shane Helms you're right back to where you used to be."

"Not yet, but close to it. So little time, so much work to be done."

"Ah, yes, true."

"So, um, you know who I am, but I have yet to learn your name," Hope smiled as she crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm Aden Connley."

"Nice to meet you Aden. You a wrestler?"

"Yep, I've been wrestling with Extreme Chaos for 3 yrs now. They call me Draco. I'm the currently hardcore champion."

"Really? Um, what are you going into for a storyline?"

"Why?"

"Just out of curiosity."

"Um, I'm supposed to help out this chick named Morgana during a match with our current cruiserweight champ Damien Red. Apparently she beats him and he tries to beat the shit out of her after the match."

"Well, Draco, I'd like you to Morgana," she grinned.

"What?"

"I'm Morgana."

"You're kidding with me, right?" She just shook her head, still grinning. "I'm gonna be in a love story with you?"

"Looks that way."

"Wait, I thought you're wrestling name was Bade."

"It was, however, I'm trying to kind of reinvent myself. I needed a new name."

"Hmmm……..I think this is going to become a very interesting company," Aden smiled.